A girl complained to her father about her hard life.She didn't know what she had to do and wanted to give up.She felt tired of fighting and fighting.One problem had been finished but another came over.
Her father，a cook，took her into the kitchen.He poured water into three pans and boiled(煮沸) them.After boiling，in the first pan was put some carrots，the second was put some eggs and the last was put with coffee.
The girl waited impatiently (不耐烦的)，confused by what her father did.About 20 minutes later，her father took out the carrots and put them in a bowl.He took the eggs and put them in a bowl.After that the coffee was poured into a cup.“My sweet heart，what do you see？” he asked.
“Carrots，eggs and coffee，” she replied.
Her father told her to close her eyes and asked her to touch the carrots.She did so and felt that the carrots were soft.After that he asked her to take the eggs and break them.After peeling (剥开) them，she got the eggs，cooked and hard.The last，the father let her smell the coffee. She asked，“What did you do this for，Father？” He explained that each had the same unlucky experience—the boiling water，but each had a different result. The strong and hard carrots had become soft and weak.The fragile eggs became hard after being cooked. The coffee was very special，they could change water.“Who are you？” asked her father.“When bad luck knocks at your door，what is your decision? Are you carrots，eggs or coffee？”

1. 1.

   The girl complained about her hard life because she didn't ________.

   1. A.
      want to give up
   2. B.
      finish one problem
   3. C.
      know what to do
   4. D.
      get tired of fighting
2. 2.

   The girl's father took her to the kitchen to ________.

   1. A.
      ask her how to boil eggs
   2. B.
      show her how to make coffee
   3. C.
      teach her how to be a cook
   4. D.
      tell her how to face difficulties
3. 3.

   After about twenty minutes，the carrots became ________.

   1. A.
      soft
   2. B.
      hard
   3. C.
      salty
   4. D.
      sweet
4. 4.

   The underlined word “fragile” in the passage means “________”.

   1. A.
      美味的
   2. B.
      易碎的
   3. C.
      特别的
   4. D.
      可怜的
5. 5.

   What can we learn from the passage?

   1. A.
      The girl's father liked to eat some kinds of food.
   2. B.
      Bad luck always knocks at strong people's doors.
   3. C.
      Boiled carrots，eggs and coffee had the same result.
   4. D.
      People should make right decisions when in trouble.

A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the new Picasso(毕加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?
Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very exciting and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”
Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.
Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.
She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We started without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”
【小题1】Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A lot of boys and girls in western（西方的）countries are wearing the same kind of clothes, and many of them have long hair, so it is often difficult to tell whether（是否）they are boys or girls.
One day, an old man went for a walk in a park in Washington, and when he was tired, he sat down in a chair. A young person was standing on the other side of the pool.
“Oh!” the old man said to the person sitting be side him on the chair. “Do you see that person with the glasses and long hair? Is it a boy or a girl?” “A girl.” said the neighbor（隔壁的人）. “She is my daughter.” “Oh!” the old man said quickly. “Please forgive me, I did not know that you were her mother.” “I’m not.” Said the other person, “I’m her father.”
【小题1】What did the old man see on the other side of the pool?